Dear friends,
I write with great joy to share the news that we have called the Rev. Rachel Bauman to serve as associate conference minister for the southern region. Rachel’s primary responsibility will be to support the congregations and pastors of the Southwest Association and the Burlington and Waukesha districts of the Southeast Association. She and her partner, Joe Scarry, plan to relocate to the Madison area in August. She will begin her new ministry Sept. 6.
Since 2019, Rachel has served as pastor of St. John’s United Church of Christ on Madeline Island. The congregation’s mission and ministry are woven into the life of the island community. Last summer, St. John’s celebrated its centennial anniversary and, despite the pandemic, strengthened its future ministry through an amazing Second Century Endowment campaign.
After receiving her master of divinity degree from the Pacific School of Religion in 2012, Rachel served for seven years as minister of community life at First Church Berkeley, United Church of Christ.
Before discerning a call to ministry, Rachel earned a master’s degree in education from the University of Vermont and worked for 15 years in higher education student affairs administration.
In her free time Rachel loves reading, cooking, eating ice cream and bird watching. Rachel is also a program associate in the Spiritual Guidance Program at the Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation. Joe is active at St. John's and works on several social justice initiatives within the Wisconsin Conference.
Many thanks to the dedicated Search Team of George Adams, Dale Meyer and David Mickle, and the Revs. Eldonna Hazen, Christine Wilke and Beth Voigt. The team is thrilled to offer this statement of endorsement.
Join me in welcoming Rachel with glad anticipation!
